


Old Night

by ScarletteStar1



Category: The OA (TV)
Genre: Drabble, F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-06 02:16:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19053217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarletteStar1/pseuds/ScarletteStar1
Summary: Do you ever wonder how many times we meet the same people across different dimensions?Nina has always known Old Night.





	Old Night

Dim lights flicker off the glass tanks and filter through the space. It lends an impression of being underwater.

Nina clutches her father’s hand as they walk through the aquarium.

“Look at this,” Her father brings her up to a tall, wide tank in which several large, gray sharks swim in circles around a sunken ship. “The shark can never stop swimming or it will die,” he leans down and tells her. He speaks American with only a slight accent now and Nina has none.

“I thought this was a myth, Papa, that a shark cannot stop swimming or he will die,” Nina says and her lips twitch to the side in a smile.

Her father beams at her. His face glows turquoise from light reflected off water. “Oh, is my Little Cabbage so smart now she is nine years old that she knows more than her Papa?” He chuckles and gives her a tickle under her chin. They stand there a little longer, but Nina does not like that she cannot look in the sharks’ eyes. They are black and closed to her and appear almost blind. It makes her uncomfortable, so she pulls on her father’s hand and leads him away toward another tank of big silver fish that seem to have choreographed their movements in perfectly synchronized aquatic dance.

It is Nina’s birthday. She’s chosen to visit the aquarium with her father. To her excited eyes, the place is utter enchantment. So far, her favorite are the little seahorses. She likes how they float, effortlessly, on the current of the water and hold onto each other by entwining their spiny tails.

Nina decides she loves the aquarium.

She is surrounded by water but she can breathe.

They take in the seal show and Nina claps and laughs at all the silly tricks the creatures do.

At the end of their visit, they stop before a tank that is so large, and so dark, it appears at first to be almost empty. “Come, Little Cabbage, let’s go. There’s no one home in this exhibit.” But Nina’s feet stay planted before the inky screen upon which she sees only her own reflection. She takes her hand from her father’s, steps in closer and uses her hands around her face to make the glare go away. The glass is cool on her nose and chin and forehead.

_Hello Nina._

She hears his voice and her heart speeds up, but she does not move a single muscle.

_I was hoping you would not leave before you came to visit me. It is so good to see you again._

“Who are you?” Nina whispers and her breath fogs the glass.

_You can think of me as an old friend. A very old friend, maybe even your oldest friend._

The voice is richly accented and silky as a night breeze.

“Old Night,” Nina says and the giant being comes into sight.

 _Yes_ , he croons. _That’s right._ He curls his arms in endless spirals. His voice seems to smile, so Nina smiles in return as she watches the enormous octopus dance for her. _It has been many dimensions since last we were together_ , Old Night says. His languid movements hypnotize her. All the other noises of the aquarium have disappeared. There is only her breath and his voice.

“I don’t remember you,” Nina says. “But I’d like to.”

_It is okay, Child. You will come to know all the things you need to know and you will remember your old friend._

“Okay,” Nina whispers and touches against the glass where he has pressed a suction cupped tentacle. “Old Night, you are magnificent,” she sighs.

_And you are very special as well, Nina. Since you have come all this way to visit me, I will give you something._

“What?”

_I will give you something important to remember, a gift of knowledge for your birthday. Be like a shark, Nina. Believe the myths. Never stop moving. If you stay still, you will not survive. Remember. . . Remember this. . ._

OA wakes with a start. She turns her head to find Homer is still sleeping. Rapping anxiously on the glass, she says, “Homer, wake up!”

“Huh?” He mumbles. He’s drowsy from sleep, but also still weak from the procedure Hap did on him the day before. “What is it?”

“The movements. We have to do them. Now.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

“It’s still dark, OA.”

“Doesn’t matter. Get up, Homer. We have to move. Old Night told me. Come on. Please,” her voice starts to sound urgent.

“Who the hell is Old Night?”

“He’s my friend, Homer. He came to me in a dream. He told me we have to move. Please, trust me.”

“Okay, okay, but keep it down you’re going to wake Scott and Rachel.”

They stand and face each other and they breathe through their first two movements, over and over. Their bodies wave and flutter and float in the space of their glass cages until they are so soaked with perspiration, it is as if they had been submerged in water.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this silly Drabble. I couldn't resist writing something around Old Night because he is one of my favorite characters in the series. And you will be my favorite for stopping by, and you will be my extra favorite if you leave a little comment! xoxoxo!


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